Boylston teachers union votes no confidence in School Committee

The Boylston Teachers' Association, citing more than two years of failed negotiations for a new contract, has passed a vote of no confidence in the Boylston School Committee.

In a prepared statement read at Tuesday's School Committee meeting, after The Banner went to press for this week's issue, Boylston Teachers Association President Jennifer Wright LaMontagne said the unanimous vote included teachers, the school nurse, the occupational therapist, the school psychologist and the speech and language pathologist.

“With great disappointment and a heavy heart, I inform you that the educators of the Boylston Teachers Association have taken a unanimous vote of no confidence in the Boylston School Committee,” LaMontagne said. “This vote follows long and difficult contract negotiations that date back more than two years. Last month, we came very close to reaching an agreement – we thought we had a tentative agreement – when the School Committee reneged on the offer.

“We, the teachers of Boylston, are deeply committed to our students, your children and ours, and work hard to give them the skills and knowledge they need to succeed,” LaMontagne said. “We are proud of the work that we do every day with our kids and recognize that this school is one of the major reasons that Boylston is such a great place to live, but we are at a crossroads.

“Despite our best efforts, we are unable to make any progress at the bargaining table. With great disappointment and a heavy heart, I inform you that the educators of the Boylston Teachers Association have taken a unanimous vote of no confidence in the Boylston School Committee,” she said.

LaMontagne described the teachers as “team players” who had made past concessions, including wage freezes and increases to health insurance contributions.

“We have made concessions in the area of professional development in a time when professional development is crucial to the educational system,” she said. “In order for our students to grow, we need to grow as well. Yet we can't seem to make any headway at the bargaining table.

“We feel undervalued and disrespected. The lack of respect and uncertainty has taken its toll. Thus, this has led us to a unanimous vote of no confidence in the School Committee,” she said. “Our door is always open and we urge you to do your part to settle our contract.”

The School Committee did not respond during the meeting. Prior to the reading of the statement, Superintendent Nadine Ekstrom told the committee the comments were meant to be "just that, they're comments and not meant to be a discussion or a back and forth.”

The teachers' most recent contract expired in August 2011, LaMontagne said. That contract was a one-year deal reached after negotiations for a three-year deal were not completed when the school year began.

That contract offered no pay raise, but did reduce the number of days teachers worked from 186 to 185, she said.

School Committee member Larry Brenner had been negotiating with the union as a designee of the committee. He declined to comment on the negotiations or the specific cause of the impasse.

He said the two sides had agreed to seek mediation on July 17, 2012.

LaMontagne also declined to cite specific reasons negotiations had broken down, but said the union had three areas of concern.

In her statement, and in a press release issued after the meeting, LaMontagne referenced a complaint filed by the union with the Massachusetts Division of Labor Relations (DLR), accusing the committee of failing to bargain in good faith.

“The DLR is currently investing the charge and is expected to issue a finding shortly,” the release states.

Wyatt confirmed the charge had been filed, but declined to comment further on the matter or when a hearing on the complaint might be heard.

One resident supported the teachers at the meeting.

Donna Rice, who described herself as an educator, a lifelong resident and a mother of students in the school, said she listened to the teachers' statement with great sadness and asked the committee to consider the students in its decision-making.

“They (teachers) are so important, not just in what they do for our kids today and tomorrow, but for what they do 10 to 20 years down the road,” Rice said. “They cannot succeed without them and I ask you to consider the impact this has on our children.”

Following the meeting, Wyatt said he believed Boylston “has great teachers who care about our kids and who care about our community...

“The School Committee also cares about our kids and our community,” Wyatt said. “We want to work together to retain teachers and to keep class sizes small, but we are in a tough budget situation and are dealing with a lot of unfunded mandates and contractual obligations. It is our hope that we will work something out.”